Frog Lake

13 Apr Frog Lake

When our friend Nick Jacobs asked if we would set up a dome off-the-grid to make his birthday dreams come true, we couldn’t resist. Especially in a setting as beautiful as Frog Lake. To top it off our friends over at The Original Nomad Hot-tubs got in on the game to make sure we stayed nice and warm during that chilly 25° night.

We got the dome set up, then started a mighty fire, the hub for many laughs and great conversations through the night. Before the sun was fully set, we went around to the other side of the lake to change our perspective and get some rad photographs.

Unbeknownst to us, Mt. Hood was just hanging out right behind us all afternoon. When you are in the dome it feels so big, but here it feels just like a tiny speck compared to the mountain. Day turned to night and the real fun began! It’s rad when half of your friends are DJ’s, we had everything we needed to make it a killer night. Below is a shot of our good friend Mitch Rymeski preforming a top-notch set. (If you wanna get in on this fun in the warmth of Holocene, check out this monthly dance party!)

Some of us took a walk later under the full moon around the lake and played around some long exposure pictures. A moonlit memorial for a friend that had passed away in a motorcycle accident was also taking place that night by an unrelated group of campers. Their lantern cranes could be seen floating on the surface of the water. A truly breath taking moment to witness.

Hill brought his Poi out and gave us a show, it felt kinda like we were having our own mini Burning Man!  We danced and ran and soaked and drank into the wee hours of the night until we slowly drifted off to our tents to get cozy under all of our blankets. The next day we hung around for a while, relaxed in some hammocks, and packed up camp. We all had a really great time, and are already making plans for the next dome excursion. 

 After the weekend was said and done, we asked the Birthday Boy Nick to say a few words about the grandiose idea of his:

“With another year around the sun, I wanted to get out of the city and into the wild with a close group of friends and do something especially memorable and perhaps, extravagant. I’ve always looked at my birthday as a chance to celebrate the people and things in my life that make it great!

From beginning to end, it was definitely a team effort in one way or another. My dear friend and “party consultant,” Nick Johnson, assisted in the planning. We decided on some essential ingredients:

 – A 24-ft geodesic dome to dance in (Escape Collective)
– Sweet sound equipment (Andy Carlson and Mitch Rymeski)
– All the juice aka a generator to fuel this crazy thing (Hill Hudson)
– DJ’s to curate the soundtrack (Michel St. Michel, RYMES, Portia, Furry Raves, and nickbynickjacobs i.e. myself)
+ a portable hot tub…because WE COULD (Original Nomad)

 After scouring the foothills of Mt. Hood, we found the perfect lakeside location to put it all together. We took a risk by planning an outdoor overnighter in April, but the birthday sun gods were with us. As friends showed up on that Saturday afternoon, we gradually built the foundation for an extraordinary experience. Just as the sun was fading and the work was finished, it started to lightly snow (for like, 10 minutes.)  The fire was hot, the hot tub was hot, the music was fire, and everybody also happened to look hot (just saying). At one point into the night, we were afraid our nearby campsite neighbors wouldn’t like all the noise… until a few of them showed up in festival gear and were completely STOKED.

I don’t know if it was the full moon or just luck but everything came together in a magical, serendipitous, beautiful way. I think everyone found the whole thing to be rewarding on many levels. Besides just being a DAMN GOOD party, we all personally contributed to the success which made it way more meaningful.

…THIS COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING…”

We agree Nick, we totally agree.

Photos by Kara Jean and Catherine Candor